Disk-holder.



Patented May 26, 1914.

:iili'illllllilllrl FJB. HOUSH.

DISK HOLDER. APPLICATION FILED I'EB.19, 1914'.

FRANK'IE. HOUSE, OF WINTHBOP, MASSACHUSETTS.

DISK-HOLDER.

Specification of Letters Patent. I P tented. May 26, 1914.

'ikpplioationfiled February 19, 1914. Serial No. 819,620.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, FRANK E. HoUsH, a citizenof the United States, residing at Winthrop, in the county of Sufliolkand State ofMassachusetts, have invented new and useful Improvements inDislnHolders, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in disk-holders; Y -Moreparticularly it relates to improvements in means for convenientlystoring, preferably in album, or book. form, disks containing recordsfor mechanical reproduction "of sound. A Efforts have heretofore;

been made in this direction, one of the most successful types beingrepresented by an a1T bum in which each leaf isof stout paper and has apocket opening at the edge of the leaf, largeenough to receive a singlerecord. It is found .inpractice, however, that hOlClQF S of this type,break at about-the middle of one edge, where the weight is'concentrated,

or where the'stress comes between the disk and the'paper when the leafis lifted byits edge to turn it over. No means has hitherto been known,so farv as I am aware, to make thepaper endure the stress of repeatedturning ofthe leaves, the weight of the disk rec- 0rd being so great, ascompared with the weight and strength of the paper which con, fines it.Hence it has not hitherto been possible to produce albums of this sortthat will prove satisfactory in service, and it has been necessary tohave cabinets of wood, and other relatively elaborate and expensiveconstructions of board, or of cloth; or to resort to other devices inwhich the casing holding one disk is not attached to the casingholdinganother, but each casing isindependent of its neighbors.

It is an object of the invention to overcome the difiiculty mentioned insuch manner that record disks may be durably contained in a case havingthe convenience of handling, indexing, and filing possessed by,

sheets in a book or album, either tight bound or loose leaf and havingstrength and dura bility that are equivalent to the strength anddurability of wood for all practical purposes; together with thelightness of weight, the thinness, and the economy of paper. This objectcan be attained in a manner "hereinafter set forth which appears to beabsolutely satisfactory in the respects mentioned, so far as myexperiments have gone, and which ncidentally has other advandescribed.

tages, such as greater safety in protecting fragile disks from breakageby shock. Y

There are several elements which contribute to the making of a perfectfiling case of the sort described. One feature is the provision of acircular line of bearing or support, substantially conforming to thecurvature of the edge of the disk, whereby the weight of the disk, andthe tension exerted on the paper, is'distributed over a long lineinstead of being concentrated at a. single point of tangency. Another isthe meansof making this line of support, viz., by stitches, as comparedw th other possible ways suc as gluing or riveting, because the stitchesinterpose a multiplicity of small positive barriers, viz., those partsof the. stitches which run transversely through the paper,

so'that the stress is resisted by the tensile strength of cord, which issuperior to that of paper,.and is received by'the paper in a mulvtiplicity of points, each of which sustains only a greatly sub-dividedportion of the entire stress, and, perhaps still more important, thedevice by which even these points are very largely relieved of shearingstress, so far as the paper is concerned, by the conversion of thestress imposed by the disk on the paper into a bending stress. Anotheris the shape and closure of the casing by the y formation of arestrictedthroat bearing a certain relation to the diameter of the disk.

Anotherfeature is the friction by which the disk is gripped and-heldwith cushion effect;

and still another is the means by which the disk is kept seated againstthe circular barrier, and locked in that position, consisting of a flapat the outer edge of the case,-projecting from the back and capable ofbeing turned over on the face, .so as to prevent the a disk fromslipping out, and which is locked by the simple process of closing thealbum with these flaps folded inward, the stiffness of the paper being.such that the disk cannot slip out nor be removed until the leaves ofthe album have been separated. These and other features will be apparentfrom a consideration of the construction hereinafter Variations may bemade from the precise construction herein illustrated and describedwithout departing from the scope of the patent as defined in theappended claims, the object of which is to cover such features ofpatcntahle novelty as exist in the invention disclosed.

One embodiment of the invention is illus-' trated in the accompanyingdrawings, in which, l

Figure 1 1s a slde vlew of a single casing,

arranged to be used as a leaf in a loose leaf book; Fig. 2 isanedgeelevation of a loose 'leaf binder containing a' number of leaves likeFig. 1, one of which is shown in section on its medialline; Fig. 3 isanedge elevation of a detail, enlarged; and 'F igs. 1 and 5 are sideviews ofmodifica-tions.

Referring to the drawings, the casings for holding the disks arerepresented as composed of two sheets of strong stifi paper, marked 12and 13, somewhatlarger than the diameter of the disk 11 which is to becontained. rear one 13,projects materially farther than the other -(tothe right, in the drawing) so as to form a flap-14 which is capabl ofbeing folded over upon the face of. the front one 12. Both of themextend to the left in such manner as to have a stub portion adapt ed tobe bound, either permanently or loosely in any suitable manner, in acover or binding. These two sheets are secured together bV a line ofstitching, 15,-1.6,17, which, starting near the top of the outervertical edge of the shorter sheet, proceeds toward the stub fora'distan'ce equal to somewhat less than half the diameter of the disk,and then proceeds farther inward, and downward,

the extreme depthqof the semi-circle near of an album; itlimits thedistance which' the stub to the edge where the fold 18 occurs, should beslightly larger than the diameter ofthe disk, to allow for the thicknessof the disk when the latter is -inserted between the two sheets, and toallow for the gradual spreading of the sheets to make the cushioningfriction grip that the sheets have on the disk. The'line of stitchingserves a multi plicity of functions. It fastens together the two sheets,and is the only fastening that need be provided, so that the-twotogethermake a case suitable for receiving a record disk, the wholebeing-comparable to a leaf the disk may penetrate when pushed in; itprovides a line bearing for the inner edge of the disk, which extendsaround the whole inner half of the disk, fittingit in-curvature; itholds the two sheets of stiff paper close together along a definite lineclose to the edge .of the disk so that when a person takes hold of theouter edge of the disk,

One of them, preferably the.

either directly, or by lifting the leaf, the two sheets act as one toresist any tendency of that disk to bend the paper, and the bendingeffect is thus located in.a straight line extending across the entirewidth of the sheet, near the stub, where bending is normal and isharmless; and the holding of two sheets together in this manner providesa frictional grip on the record disk, and a cushion support, both ofwhich I deem of considerable importance. There are also other functionsserved by' this construction. A double thread style of sewing ispreferred, in which the thread is locked at each stitch. I But whateverbe the style of sewing itis' evident'that the number of places where thethread goes through the two sheets, make 'a very large number in' total,and constitute a sort of net-work limiting the movement of the disk.Ofcourse they get their lsupport only from the paper,

but as each penetration is separated at a paper, in that they renderavailable for holding the disk firmly all that body ofjthe paper whichintervenes betweenplaces where the stitches penetrate the paper. Thiswill be understood from-a consideration of Fig.

3, from which it is clear thatany-pressure of the disk 11 inthe'direction of the arrow does not impose stress directly on thethread, but tends to separate the sheets 12 and 13,

and, in so doing is opposed by those. qualities of stifiness and ofelasticity which are inherent in the paper. 12, 13, lie parallel to eachother, or else slightly divergent on the stub side of the line ofstitching; and that portion of the stitch which is marked 10 in Fig.3ytends to holdthem parallel; but the insertion of the disk 11 separatesthem, and in so doing bends each sheet, transversely, the bendbeingmoreacute the moredeeply' the disk is inserted, but never becoming a sharpbend. This does not tend particularly tor-'ard shearing the paper,because the tough superficial skin of the papef remains unbroken.

The two sheets In practice the resistance becomes great enough to stop aperson pushing the disk, before it has got close enough to the stitch tomake a bend sharp enough to be in danger of cracking the paper. As thetwo sheets 12, 13, are rigidly and positively held totion of the disk.The farther the-,-d1sk 'is gether by the successive portions 10 of thepressed inward, the greater this resistance becomes, but in character itIS always a cushioning resistance, because the disk, practically, nevergets so far as to reach a positive barrier, and the elasticity of thepaper is intervening between the disk and the ultimate barrier afiordcdby the line of stitching. This produces a frictional grip on the recordwhich extends around its periphery. These characteristics are to bedistinguished from a case that may be imagined where a disk is put intoa circular pocket having a square instead of a V-shaped cross section,

in which case the disk may abut directly against the transverse barrier;and are to be distinguished from the situation where a disk is placed inan Ordinary stiff paper" envelop, in which the limit is formed by a foldin the paper. This makes a U-shaped construction in which the naturaltendency of the paper is to open instead of to close;

. and in which it is much easier forthe paper to conform itself to theshape of the edge of the disk, and so for the disk to reach a solidbearing against the fold of the paper. In the first of these cases,there would ordinarily be no friction on the sides; in the second therewouldbe so, little friction, or so easily disappearing with usage, thatthe lateral pinching effect of the invention would not be attained. Thedegree of friction with which any particular disk will be thus helddepends upon the relation between the thickness and diameter of the diskand the diameter ofthe circular stitching. It is an advantageouscharacteristic of the invention that the construction illustratcd workssatisfactorily upon disks varying both in thickness and in' diameter. Inpractice, record disks for reproduction of sound are made in standardsizes, as 10- inch, or 12-inch, and the leaves of an album for theenvelops would in practice be designed for the particular size; but thedisks which are nominally of the same size do in fact vary somewhat fromthat precise size. If the diameter of stitching be, for example, 10%inches, it will accommodate a disk of ten inches of any of thethicknesses now common on the market, holding it frictionally, and willalso accommodate and hold ,frictionally a 10-inch disk which reallymeasures, for example, only 9?;- inches.

I regard it as import-ant that my casing will hold, with gentlefrictional cushion-grasp, disks of such different sizes. Another featureof importance is a supplementary means of maintaining the disks withinthecasing. Hitherto it has usually beenthought necessary, where diskholders have been assembled in book form, to have the pockets open atthe top, sothat the disks would not fall out during handling. Thisinvolves the disadvantage that, in order to extract a single disk, it isusually necessary to open the book rather widely in order to relievethat portion of the disk which is next the binding from pressure whilebeing drawnout, and, more important, the action of withdrawing or ofinserting the disk tends to wrench or tear the leaf from'its binding. Inmy invention, the frictional hold upon the disk within may be so strongthat the pockets may open at the edge of the casing or leafwhich is.remote from the bind ing, so that the direction of pressure or pull,

toward or from the binding edge. These principles hold true when theunderline of stitching is carried straight out from the bottom oftheportion 16, asit might be, on

the line 17 as indicated in Figs; but I have devised a furtherimprovement, which is represented .by the location in whichthe stitching17 in Fig. 1 is shown, inwh-icha narrowed or frictional throat entranceis formed, To do this the circular line of stitching 16 is cbntinued. alittle. past. the bottom of the circle and upward to the right, as seenin 1, to .17 wherethe line 17 begins. A similar construction may betweenthe lines 15 and 16. Wliethcrone when putting the diskin or out, issquarely be employed at the top, atthe junction 15,

or both of these variations fromf-the. pos-- sible parallelentrance'borders 15", 1'Z ,.be practised, a throatv is formed whosenarrowest part is represented by the distance porary, may be greaterthan would be desirable for the disk to impose permanently on the paper,as upon the line 16, adjacent to which the disk remains for a longperiod of time. It may in fact be so great as to prevent thedisk fromfalling out by gravity, or during ordinary handling and turning ofleaves, notwithstanding the leaf be ,held and even shaken or jarred withthe mouth of its pocket downward,

The flap 14 is provided by folding one of the sheets, preferably therear sheet, on a line 18 close to the mouth of the pocket, over upon theface of the other sheet. The mouth of the pocket thus closed issolocated that the fold thus made is near to the edge of a disk containedin the pocket, as illustrated. This furnishes an additional means ofholding the disk in; and also makes sure that all disks in the album areproperly seated in their pockets when the album is closed, be-

flu

cause if any disk be not so, its flap 14'. cannot be closed, thuscalling attention to the fact that the disks need adjustment; and itserves the further function of locking the disks in place, because, asillustrated in Fig. 2, when the album is closed, each flap-14 is helddown flat by being pinched within the .stack bf leaves. I I

The hole 22 may be cut through the center of both sheets, thus exposingthe label on. the

disk within. Near; the stub portion of the leaf, lines or creases 23 maybe formed as is customary with loose leaf books, to facilitate.

bending; and in the stub itself, a filler or guard 21 may be employedfor the sake of I strength,if the leaves are'to be used as in a i kindof a loose leaf or permanent binding,

the style of loose. leaf binding represented in Fig. 2 is to beunderstood as merelyindi eating one style of such binding with which theleaves may be used, in which the holes .191

' in the stub of the sheet are penetrated 'b a binding post 19 andheld-by thumb nut 19".,

The invention will also be and is'fiii for holding individual recorddisks apart from albums, affording .a greater protection to the disk byits cushion grasp. and by its line support, as distinguished from thetangentia-l and solid bearing which disks have on the edges of. thesquare envelops at present so commonly in use. For this the form ofstitching shown in Fig. 1 may be used, "or other forms. Simple forms'areillustrated in Figs. 4 and 5. The former rep-resents two square sheets12, 13, sewn together by stitching on the line 15', 16, 17', the lines15 and 17 being parallel to each other and the line 16 being asemi-circle connecting them. Fig. 5 shows similarly two square sheets12', 13', but the line of stitching at the top marked 15 is horizontalover the center'of the pocket, and runs only a short distance, thestitchinglG? is oblique and straight at the lower inner quadrant of'thedisk, limiting its depth of insertion and at the same time supportingit; and the line of stitching .17 is oblique, sloping upward andoutward, and also forming a support.

Additional fastening'ineans, such as glue,

may be provided if needed, to hold the two sheets securely together; andthis may be put anywhere except in the region used for the pocket andentrance thereto. When such a casing as is illustrated in Fig. 5 isused, the

casings filled with disks may be stored on edge, and the edgewhichis thetop may bear an index number, filing mark, or blank for notes regardingcontents of the casing,

it will naturally put downward the edge 'withthe lines 16'- and 17, thusutilizing the force of gravity inaddition to that of friction forholding the disk in the casing, while permitting the convenience of afile in which each' record stands on edge and is therefore accessibleand removable without disturbing others. In this-case it will be notedthat although the lines of stitching are straight instead of curved,they embody the function of certain partsof the invention in that theyafford a frictional V-grip on those parts of the disk which are next tothem, so that when the casing is filed' on edge the Q weight of the diskis suspended from various parts of the sheets 12, 13, and is" notconcentrated at the bottom, If the line 16 v e a o 4 were a verticalline, in a casing formed as a leaf of a book, there would be danger ofthe leaf bending and after a time breaking on.

that line. Consequently when the casings are to be made up as leavesof-a book it is always'desirable that the line of stitching which istoward the bindin be either curved or oblique asglhavefounin'practice"that such constru' ion prevents the bend in thepaper fromflfijjiccurring on the line of the stitching. v

- I claim as my invention! v 1. A holder-for a disk comprising thecombination of two sheets of relatively stiff, elastic material andmeans fastening them closer together thanthe thickness of'the disk,there beingan opening for entrance of a .disk between the sheets; saidfastening running on a curve for a part of its length, adapted to followthe contour of an inserted disk. w

holder for a disk comprising the combination of two sheets of paperfastened together in close proximity to each other along a curve therebeing an opening between the sheets for admission of the disk; wherebythe insertion of the disk through said opening spreads thesheets'elast-ically in V-shape from said fastening, thereby holding theedge of the disk frictionally.

3. A holder for a disk comprising the combination of two sheets of paperstitched together to form a pocket open at one edge, the'line ofstitching passing inward from said open edge, around a curve, andoutward, andthe paper sheets being held close enoughtogether by saidstitching, so thata disk separates them when inserted and isheldfrictionally around a considerable portidn of its edge.

4. A holder for a disk comprising the combination of two sheets of paperstitched together to form a pocket open at one'edge,

the line of stitching passing" inward from J said open edge, around a'curve, and outward, and the paper sheets being held close enoughtogether by. said stitching, so that" a'disk separates them wheninserted and is held frictionally around a considerable por-' tion ofits edge, the inward and outward 'lines of stitching forming acontracting 6. A protective holder for a disk, comprising a leaf adaptedto be bound in an album,

and comprisin two sheets fastened together, forming a poc e t for thedisk between them;

. said fastening being on a curved line, conforming to theedge of thedisk and holding the sheets closer together than the thickness of adisk, whereby the sheets resist elastically the insertion ofthe'disk andhold it frictionally away from said fastening when inserted, there beinga space between said.

curved fastening and the-binding for flexure of the leaf. i

7. The combination of a multiplicity of holders for disks, eachholder-comprising two sheets of paper fastened close together along acurved line, there being an opening between the sheets for insertion ofa disk;

one of each such pair of sheets having a flap adapted to fold over saidopening and lie upon the other'sheet; and means for binding the saidmultiplicity of holders together in a book, whereby when the book isclosed, said flaps are held folded over said openings by the bookclosure.

. 8.,The combination of.a multiplicity of holders for disks, each holdercomprising two sheets of paper fastened close together along a curvedline, there being an opening between the sheets for'insertion of adisk;- one of each such pair of sheets having a flap adapted to foldover said opening and lie the sheets for insertion of the upon the othersheet; means for binding said multiplicity of holders together on astraight line oppositesaid opening.

9. The combination of a multiplicity of holders for disks, each holder.comprising two sheets of paper fastened close together along acurvedline, there being an opening between the sheets for insertion of a disk;one of each such pair of sheets having a flap adapted to fold over saidopening and'lie upon the other sheet; means for binding saidmultiplicity of holders together on a straight line at a little distancefrom the curvilinear fastening, the intervening material being flexible.7

10. A holder for a multiplicity of disks comprising sheets of paperbound together in pairs in the form of a book, each pair of sheetshaving a line of stitching fastening the sheets together and forming apocket; said pocket being open for insertion of a diskat the edge remotefrom, and parallel to, the binding, and said stitching extending fromsaid edge inward toward said binding, and then farther inward, down- KWard and outward around a semi-circular line, and then outwardto saidedge remote sofrom the binding; combined with means for holding disks inthe pockets thus formed.

11. The combination of a multiplicity of holders for disks, each holdercomprising two sheets of paper fastened close together along linesconstituting a pocket adaptedto hold a disk, there being an openinbetween isk; and means for binding said'holders together; the line offastening which is toward the binding being not. parallel thereto.

12. A holder for a disk comprising the combination of two sheets ofrelatively stifl',

elastic material and means fastening them together closer than thethickness of the disk, along lines; there being an opening for entranceof a disk between the sheets; said lines being located so as to form apocket for the disk, limiting its movement between the sheetselastically.

, Signed by me at Boston, Mass, this tenth day of February, 1914.

FRANK E. HOUSH.

- Witnesses:

JOSEPH T. BRENNAN, EVERETT E. KENT.

